Source: Wiley Online Library, September 2016

A B S T R A C T

This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: To assess the effects on morbidity and mortality of screening for malignant melanoma in the general population.

B A C K G R O U N D

Description of the condition

Malignant melanoma is a lethal cancer, which caused 55,488 deaths globally in 2012 (Globocan 2012a) – and isproportionately more in high-risk countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, where there were 2019 deaths in 2012 (Globocan 2012b). The incidence of malignant melanoma in white populations has risen manyfold over recent decades (Garbe 2009). It has been proposed that this is due to an increase in risk factors, mainly exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun and artificial sources (Waldmann 2012). However, it has also been suggested that this rise in incidence is caused by the overdiagnosis of indolent malignant melanomas, due to increased disease awareness, as increased incidence has not always been followed by increased mortality (Norgaard 2011; Welch 2005).